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(No Modem 2 sheets-sheet 1.

. G. B. PkESSBNDEN.

WATCHMANS TIME DETECTOR.

No. 381,993. Patented Mayl, 1888.

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(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

G. BPESS-BNDEN.

WATGHMANS TIME DETECTOR.

No. 381,993. f Patented'MaJy l, 1888.

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N. PETERS. Phum-Lithognphnr, wnshingmn, D. C.

UNITEDv STATES PATENT OEEICE.

GEORGE B. FESSENDEN, OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS.

WATCH MANS TIM E-DETECTO R.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 381,993, dated May 1,1888.

Application led December 22, 1886. Serial No. 222,329.

To all whom, it may concern..-

Be it known that I, GEORGE B. FEssENDEN,

of Boston, county of Suffolk, State of Massachusetts, have invented anImprovement in Watchmens' Time-Detectors, of which the followingdescription, in connection with the accompanying drawings, is aspecification, like letters on the drawings representing like parts.

My invention relates to a watch mans timedetector of that class in whichthe watchman visits the different stations and, by means of an electriccircuit connecting each station with a clock or recording apparatus,causes a record to be made of the time at which he .visits the stations.In apparatus of this class as heretofore generally made the clock orrecording apparatus isconnected with ,the different stations by a seriesof normally-open circuits having a common return-wire containing abattery or other source of electricity, so that when the proper branchis closed by a suitable key or button at any station acurrent will becaused to flow, which, through suitable electromagnetic devices at theclock, causes a record to be made on a traveling recordingsurface havinga uniform time movement. The record or mark on the traveling surface hasusually been made by the direct action of an electromagnet or itsretractor, thus requiring a sufiiciently-strong cu rrent to do the workof making the record, which is usually made by pricking or punching ahole through the traveling surface, which is usually a sheet of paper.

In another application, Serial No. 136,055, filed .I une 26, 1884, Ihave shown and described an apparatus having the source of the electriccurrent placed in the branch circuits leading to the station, instead ofin the common returnwire, and thus removing the possibility of producinga record by connecting a branch wire with the return-wire at any otherpoint except at the station to be visited. In that apparatus electricgenerators were employed, instead of batteries, in the branch circuits,and the said generators each operated a circuit-changer, by which thecircuit at any time operated is immediately thereafter opened and thecircuit leading to the next station of the series immediately closed,but one station-circuit being closed at a time. The said circuit-changerin its movement that shifted the circuit from one (No model.)

station to the next also operated another circuit containing therecording instrument, which thus produced a record of each movement ofthe circuit-changing instrument, and the apparatus so constructed didnot produce a separate independent record for each station.

The present invention consists partly in a novel arrangement of thebranch and return circuits, whereby two or more series of stations maybeconnected with and controlled by a single circuit-changing instrument.

The invention also consists in the employment of an independentrecording device for each station or for the corresponding stations ofeach series of stations, in connection with branch circuits leading fromthe recording-instrument to the different stations and independentelectric generators at each station.

The invention also consists in details of construction of' the apparatusand arrangement of the circuits, to be hereinafter pointed out.

Figure 1 is a plan view of the recording apparatus of a Watchmansdetector embodying this invention; Fig. 2, an end elevation of a portionthereof, Fig. 3, a detail in section on line x, Fig. l; Fig. 4, adiagram representing the circuits, and Fig. -5 a perspective View of thecircuit-changing shaft or drum.

The' recording apparatus comprises a clockwork or time-movement, a, ofusual construction, for actuating the recording-surface, which consistsof a dial of paper, (indicated in dotted lines at a', Fig. 1,) which isrotated with a uniform time-movement by the arbor at of the saidclock-work, and has its periphery supported at the point where therecord is to be made by guides 01.3 c, in the usual manner. The recordis made by a series of pins, b, working in guides ai (see Fig. 2) at theunder side of the paper-guide a3, said pins being operated to pierce thepaper by levers or hammers c, corresponding to the different stations.The said hammcr-leversc are acted upon by springs d, (see Figs. 3 and4,) tending to throw their ends against the recording-pins, and the saidlevers are all insulated fromone another, Working in guides c', ofinsulating material, connected with the paper-guide ci, and beingprovided with striking-faces 02,01c insulated material, to prevent themfrom becoming electrically connected through the pins b and guide Ulv a.The said levers c, which with the pins b constitute the recordingdevices, are operated by a drum, e, provided with a series of pins orprojections, e', (see Figs. 1 and 3,) arranged spirally around the saiddrum, so that the latter in rotating through an angle equal to thatbetween two consecutive pins, as shown in Fig. 3, will depress thestriking end of one of the hamm ers c, si rai ning the springs ci, andthen releasing the said hammer, so that it will be acted upon by thespring d and caused to strike a blow against the corresponding pin, b,sufficient to force the latter through the paper and make the record,and at the end of the angular movement the drum will come to rest withthe next pin in contact with the next lever to the one which was thusoperated to make a record, and will always have one pin in contact withone lever, making an electrical connection between the said lever andthe drum awhile all the other levers are electrically insulated from thesaid drum.

rlhe drum e is actuated and controlled in its angular movements by amechanical motor or clockwork,f, driven by a weight or spring andprovided with a detent-lever,f, which normally engages a projection, f2,on a detentwheel,j`, and when disengaged therefrom permits the saidwheel to make one rotation, which is sufficient to turn the drum ethrough the space between two consecutive pins. The detent-leverf/ isconnected with a rock-shaft, f4, provided with an armature-lever, f5,carrying the armature for an electro-magnet, g, which in this instanceis so proportioned as to be operated by the comparatively-weak currentsproduced by a small magneto-generator, as the mechanical work ofdisengaging the detent is very small.

The drum e, besides serving to operate the hammer-levers c, alsocontrols the branch circuits leading from the recording apparatus to thevarious stations to be visited, so that a circuit will be afforded onlyfrom the station corresponding to that one of the levers c which happensat any time to be engaged by one of the pins e, as shown in Fig. 3.

The arrangement of circuits is best shown in Fig. 4, the differentbranches 2, 3, the., leading to the different stations 7b2 h3, Ste.,being connected with the different levers c, through their springs d, orotherwise, so that the said branches are in open circuit at all the saidlevers c, except the one which happens to be at any time in contact withone of the pins c. A common return wire, 4,

.leads from all the stations to the recording apparatus, where it isconnected with the drum e, as shown, after passing through the magnet gand the commutator i, carried by the shaft of the drum e, the purpose ofwhich will be hereinafter explained. The magnet g is thus included incircuit'with any branch, 2 3,which happens to be closed; but instead ofalso placing the generator or source of electricity, usually a battery,in the said return-wire 4, as usually practiced, the electric current isin the present invention applied in each of the branches,whicl1 areshown as provided with magneto electric generators, of usualconstruction, at each of the stations h2 h3, dac. By this means it isimpossible for a watchman who wishes to\ shirk his duty to produce arecord by connecting one ofthe branches 2 Swith the return-wire 4 at anypoint, as can usually be and frequently is done; but it is necessary forhim to go to the station in order to cause a current to pass through themagnetg, so as to produce a record.

Itis obvious that instead of the magnetogenerators at the stations localbatteries might be used; but the generators are preferable, as theycause the branch circuits to be connected with the return-wire throughtheir armatures, which may be of low resistance relative to that ofthemagnet g, so that even if a watchman had a battery or other generator atcornmand he could not produce a record by placing it in circuit betweenone of the branches and the return-wire, as the generator would shuntthe said magnet or withdraw so much ofthe current from it as to preventit from operating. As shown in this instance, there are double thenumber of stations that there are of hammers c, and the pins e arearranged in two reversed spirals around the drum e, so that in visitingthe different stations the watchman will be obliged to go successivelyto those connected with the levers c in one orderthat is, from one tothe other end of the series of leversand will have to visit the nextseries of stations in the reverse order with relation to the levers c.The branch wires 2 3 from each lever c are subdivided, having otherbranches, 20 80, leading to stations la Ifo, t-he said stations formingtwo series, as it were, each corresponding to one set of spiral pins eon the drum e, and in order to prevent a record from being transmittedfrom a station of one series that should be transmitted from the stationof the other series connected with the same lever, there is anindependent return wire, 1&0, for the second series, which also passesto the commutator or oircuit-changer z' on the drum c.' The saidcommutator is shown as composed of a disk insulated from the drum andhaving one half its periphery cut away, while the other half projects soas to make contact during the different halves of the rotation of theshaft and drum with springs z" i2, respectively connected with thereturn-wires 4 40. The said disk is continuously connected by spring iwith the magnet-wire 5, leading to one terminal ofthe magnet g, theother terminal of which is connected by wire 6 with the spring Iainelectrical contact with the drum e. rIhus during onehalf rotation of thedrum the return-wire 4 is connected, through the spring t', disk t',spring i, wires 5 and 6, including the magnet g and spring 7;, with thedrum e and pins e thereof, so that when one of the said pins comes incontact with one of the levers the corresponding branch-as 2,forinstance,Fig. 4is closed,

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and by operating the generator h2 a current will pass through the magnetg, releasing the motor f and causing the shaft to turn sufficiently tooperate that lever and bring the next pin in contact with the nextlever. The generator h20 will at this time produce no effect, becauseits return-wire 40 is open at the spring i. The station he' will then bethe only one in circuit, and when a current is generated there it willcause the second lever of the series to make a record, and so on untilall the stations of the first series have been visited, making a seriesof records which follow one another in one direction on therecordingsurface, each succeeding one being, for instance, nearer thecenter of the said recording-surface than the preceding one. Then, afterall this series of stations have been visited, the drum e will have madea half-revolution, by which the uncut portion of the disk z' comes incontact with the spring i2, leavingthe spring i', so that thereturn-wire 4 and first series of stations will be in opencircuit-,while the return-wire 4;() is connected, through the spring i2,disk i, and spring i3, with the wires 5 6, including the magnet g, andwith the drum e, so that the different branches 2O 30, and so on, arebrought into circuit in the rotation of the drum e, but in the reverseorder to that followed for the first series of stations, so that therecords for the second series of stations are successively more remotefrom the center of the paper disk, and there is thus no difficulty indistinguishing the different stations on the recording-disk, which showsthe time that the watchman visited each station in each series.

When desired, the apparatus may be provided with means for operating alocal alarm in case the watchman fails to visit the different stationsfor any reason, as described in patent to E. T. Quimby, No. 236,257,dated January 4, 1881. In the said patent to Quimby the circuit closercontrolling the local-alarm circuitis operated by the clock and by themagnet which actuates the recording-marker; and the present invention,so far as relates to the local alarm, consists in operating thecircuitcloser by the clock or time movement and by a mechanical actuatoroperating in connection with the recording mechanism. This part of theapparatus is shown in Fig. l, and consists, essentially, of acircuit-closer, m m', the movable member m of which is frictionallyconnected with an arbor, m2, rotated by a gear, m3, meshing with one ofvthe slow moving wheels of the clock a, which may be the same thatactuates the recording-surface and which moves the member m slowlytoward the member m', so that unless this movement is arrested themembers will come together and close the local circuit of the alarm S atthe end of a definite period of time, depending on the distance themembers m m are separated at the beginning of such movement.

In order to prevent the members m m from coming together as long as thewatchman 1s attending to his duty, the member 'm is acted upon by amechanical actuator tending to move it in the opposite direction to themovement produced by the clock, and shown in this instance as consistingof a pin or cam projection, n, connected with the drum e, and arrangedto strike a roller, n', at the end of the lever m in the rotation of thedrum e, and thereby move the lever m a definite distance from thecooperating member m', so that a definite period of time will have toelapse after the projection a passes the roller n before the circuit canbe closed, which period is made by adjusting the member m' a few minutesgreater than the time allowed for the watchman to make his round ofvisits.

If desired, there might be a series of the projections n correspondingto each station, and the time shortened so that the alarm would besounded if the watchman delayed too long between the visits to any twostations.

It is obvious that the arrangement of the currentgenerators at thestations, instead of in the common return-wire, the said generatorscooperating with corresponding recording devices, is not limited to thespecific construction of said recording devices herein illustrated.

I claim- 1. The combination, with a moving recording-surface, of aseries of recording devices and an electro-magnet controlling theoperation thereof, and a series of brauch circuits corresponding withsaid recording devices, and each being subdivided and leading to twoseparate stations, a return-wire common to one series of stationsconnected with one set of subdivided circuits and another return-wirefor the other series of stations, and a commutator controlling the saidreturn-wires, whereby the controlling electro-magnet is connected kwithone return-wire while records are being made from one series of stationsand with the other return-wire while records are being made from theother series, substantially as and for the purpose described.

2. The combination, with atime-inotor or clock and recording-surfacemoved thereby, of a series of recording devices and a number of branchcircuits leading from said recording devices, respectively, to thedifferent stations to be visited, and a return-wire common to saidstations, and a magneto-electric generator included in the branch wireat each of the stations, substantially as and for the purpose described.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in thepresence of two subscribing witnesses.

GEO. B. FESSENDEN.

Witnesses:

Jos. P. LIVERMORE, JAs. J. MALONEY.

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